Summer is just around the corner which means that many residents will leave their homes for extended periods of time for vacations and summer activities. It may not be the first concern on your mind but turning off the water before leaving your home could save you money and prevent disaster from striking while you are not around.

Include Water Shut Off In Your Prep List

While the water system should be fine while you’re gone, there is never a guarantee. Even if no one is in your home while you are away and no water will be used, the pipes could burst or leak causing massive flooding and other damage while you are miles away.

Before you go, calling a licensed plumber to check your water line, older pipes and other areas of your home can be beneficial. While you should still be turning off the water in your home while you are gone, the plumber can give you peace of mind by letting you know that everything is safe.

How Do I Turn Off My Water?

You can shut the water off in your home from the main valve. Knowing the location of the valve is not only important to know for when you leave your home, but in the case of an emergency to prevent further flooding. You may need to search for a bit if you don’t immediately know where your valve is located. If you need assistance finding the valve you can call S&B or here are some common places to look:

Around the perimeter of your home
The basement or below ground level of your home
The nearest point of your home from your water meter
Listed in your inspection report
Access panels installed in walls during remodel

Turning Off The Water During The Winter

While winter may be in the back of your mind, you should plan to turn off your water during winter vacations or trips as well. Even more so because of the added risk of frozen and bursting pipes. Even small leaks that go undetected can become huge problems if left unchecked. While traveling is less common for Utahn’s in the winter, it is a good idea to have plumbers check your home for leaks and other problems frequently. While emergency plumbing is available, water and plumbing disasters can be prevented with frequent upkeep.

Water Heaters

Keeping up with maintenance and turning off the water heater when you are gone is another way to prevent damage. Checking your water heater for unusual noises or pooling water before you leave is a good place to start. If you are in need of a water heater replacement or just want to have a professional check it out before you take off, we are here to help.

Another common question that a plumber may receive is if turning off the water to your water heater will damage it. Turning off the main water supply or the heat supply will not cause damage to the heater. Turning off the main water supply prevents new water from refilling your tank. If your tank is almost out of water before you leave it is best to turn off the water heater so the water does not run out and cause damage. If the tank is full, then turning the water heater off is not necessary.

Other Precautions You Can Take

While turning off the water to your home will prevent most if not all the damage, here are some other things you can do before your next vacation to prevent damage to your home:

Drain water from pipes in the winter
Inspect supply lines and other appliances and repair damaged ones
Check your sump pump
Check gutters for build up of leaves and other debris
Unplug electronics
Set your thermostat to an away temperature
Recruit a house watcher in case damage or emergency does occur.

Contact Us Before Or After Disaster

We are available to help your prevent and repair disaster. Contact us to check water lines, appliances. sewage and drains.

While many DIY projects seem appealing, solving plumbing issues by yourself can be dauting. By calling a plumber you ensure that a professional who is trained in how to handle a multitude of problems will get the job done. Whether you need a new faucet, drain cleaning or flooding issues a plumber can identify the problem quickly and get your home back to full functioning order.

Identifying The Problem

One of the biggest reasons you should call a plumber is that the underlying problem may be hard to find. You can probably determine yourself that the shower head is leaking and maybe even stop some of the leak on your own. A professional plumber will be able to stop the leak completely and determine which pipe or fixture is causing the problem.

Doing this on your own could take hours and lots of work. Ripping apart your floor or shower head could cause more of a headache than you bargained for and you will end up calling a plumber anyway. You will save more money by having the problem found by a plumber than if you work to try and find it yourself.

Using Unnecessary Products

If your drain is clogged, your first reaction may be to buy some cleaning solution or make up a concoction to clear out your drain. If you are going to spend the money on these products to help fix the problem easily, you may want to just consider calling a plumber. Identifying the problem is important here too because there could be years of build up deeper in your pipes or even tree roots cutting through, that drain cleaning products will not come close to fixing. While these products can help for a short amount of time, a prolonged problem that hasn’t gone away should be looked at by a plumber.

Bigger Problem Than You Realize

Fixing your water heater may not seem like a pressing issue. Maybe those in your home like taking cold showers. But this and other issues could affect more than one aspect of your life. Hot water heaters help you have warm or hot water for cooking, washing clothes and showers. Without hot water, your day-to-day operations may be changed more than you realize. If the water heater is also broken in the winter, pipes can freeze and burst without water running through them. Calling a plumber early helps to prevent further frustration and damage that you can not reverse. Life is busy, but the sooner you place the call the better the situation will be.

The Presence Of Mold

Removing mold from your home can be an extensive process. Calling a plumber will help to ensure that all the mold is safely removed from your home. The health of you and your family could be at risk and this should not be a project that you attempt to tackle by yourself.

Another thing that plumbers can identify is what is causing the mold to grow. Mold grows where the conditions are right and in places that have lots of moisture. Having a plumber fix the cause of the problem will help to keep the mold from re-growing inside your home. If there is mold in one place of your home, it could be in others and calling a plumber will help to rid all toxins from the residence.

Takeaway

Small problems that crop up in your home may only take minutes to fix. Bigger issues require professionals, that’s what we are there for. We have a number of trained team members that are happy to serve you. No job is too big or too small. Call S&B plumbing or visit our website to schedule a service.

Turning Off The Water To Avoid Disaster